Christmas Bells – TCK 73

[Image ID] Two gold bells, made from decorated cardboard, with red ribbon decoration. [description end]

I was really excited to make the bells from Tonic Craft Kit 73, but it took me a while to find the time for it as I’ve been busy with exhibitions. I also struggled with indecision on what colours of card to use, before eventually settling for kraft (brown) card only.

3D projects like this can take quite a while to construct, but I found that by doing all of one task at a time E.G. cutting out all the pieces for one bell before decorating any of them, it was more fun than constantly swapping between cutting and decorating.

I used Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive for the entirely of the glueing on these bells as I find it dries ‘harder’ than other glues which helps to hold 3D projects together when they are going to be used repeatedly over a long period.

[Image ID] Close up of the bells enabling you to see some of the intricate panels as well as the gold detail on the red ribbon. [description end]

I sprayed the main construction panels of the bell using Nuvo Mica Mist before glueing them together. The spray is what created the silvery shine that’s visible behind the decorative panels – particularly obvious on the left hand bell - in the picture above. The shine from the Mica Mist helps to lift the plain kraft card and give it the shiny and glittery look of a Christmas decoration.

[Image ID] Close up showing the glittery effect on the plain panels, whilst enabling the intricate panels to be seen in even more detail. [description end]

Each bell has six sides, and I chose to alternate how I decorated them. One side has plain panels covered in sparkle paste on it, then the next has an intricate die-cut design using the decorative panel dies from the kit, and this repeats all the way round. I didn’t add spray or paste to the die-cut panels, as I thought leaving them matte would help to prevent the sparkle from becoming overwhelming.

[Image ID] Close up of the red and gold ribbon bow on top of the bell. [description end]

The dies for the paper bow on top of each bell were from another die set, rather than the kit, but I thought they helped to complete the otherwise simple baubles.

I cut the base layer of the bow from a sheet of Tonic Studios Classic Card I had from a previous kit – it might be ‘Chilli Red’ but I’m not sure. The decorative layer was cut from a gold mirror card which was included in the kit.

Once both bells were made, I tied them together using the ribbon which came in the kit as it matched nicely with the paper bows I’d made.

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3D Bell die set: Tonic Craft Kit 73 ‘Bells and Baubles’

Paper bow dies: part of the ‘Christmas Bauble’ die set by Tonic Studios

Glue: Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive – Tonic Studios

200gsm kraft card

Nuvo Mica Mist in ‘Pearled Ivory’ – Tonic Studios

Crafter’s Ribbon (9mm) in ‘Chilli Red’ – Tonic Studios

Mirror Card in ‘Honey Gold’ – Tonic Studios

Classic Card in ‘Chilli Red’ – Tonic Studios

Distress Texture Paste in ‘Sparkle’ – Ranger

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